It’s time for the BFI London Film Festival! The BFI building on the South Bank is lovely, especially in the autumn. They’ve got a terrace by the Thames, perfect for sipping steaming, star anise-seasoned mulled wine, whilst perving on hot Italian tourists in bomber jackets.
This year they’ve got a host of challenging, gorgeous cinema to choose from, including a substantial LGBT selection. We’ve picked out the most interesting-sounding ones. Well it’s up to you, but they’re the ones WE’LL be seeing anyway. See you on the mulled wine tourist perving terrace.
Tangerine
Dir Sean Baker
USA 2015. 88min.
An hour and a half of drama between two transgender sex workers, all filmed on an iPhone 6. Sounds like our Saturday nights! Seriously though, this movie looks like it’s going to be a right romp, in a very entertaining and original way. Most notably, the transgender characters are played by actual, real transgender actors! Take note Jean-Marc Vallée. Although having said that, they’re not actually actors. Apparently they just got on with their lives as director Sean Baker kept the iPhone 6 rolling. Which means it’s not so much a drama as a docu-drama. But that’s no bad thing! All the more real and all the more gritty.
Aligarh
Dir Hansal Mehta
India 2015. 120min.
The BFI promises that this is “probably the best film yet on the Indian gay male experience” and judging from the trailer it looks like they might be right. It looks beautiful, sensory and compelling. A university professor is suspended from his job after a photographer breaks into his house and catches him in bed with a male rickshaw driver (that’s happened to all of us at one point or another hasn’t it). The ensuing whirlwind of litigiousness that follows, charts a story of the challenging of gay rights in India, and a story that gets under the skin of human rights in a hectic, eclectic society.
Gayby Baby
Dir Maya Newell
Australia 2015. 85min.
This one’s a sweet little Aussie documentary about four kids who happen to have gay parents; Gus, Ebony, Graham and Matt. Gus is obsessed with professional wrestling, Ebony wants to become a pop star, Graham is struggling with his reading and Matt is questioning religion. The film is presented as being an unprejudiced and intimate look at gay parenting, a subject which, while not as taboo as it used to be, is still very undocumented in the mainstream media.
Chemsex
Dir William Fairman, Max Gogarty
UK 2015. 80min.
In this unflinching documentary, we meet a host of men whose lives have been affected, from self-confessed ‘slammers’ to sexual health workers, each of whom talk candidly about the pleasures and perils associated with the scene. Much more than just a sensationalist exposé on a small portion of London’s gay community, this powerful and often graphic film seeks to offer a vital insight into the ubiquitous issue.
• So those are our selections! Just from those four, it’s easy to see that there’s a kaleidoscopic spectrum of films on offer.
• The BFI London Film Festival runs from October 7th – 18th at BFI Southbank, South Block, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XT.
• To book tickets call 020 7928 3232 or visit bfi.org.uk.
